Gibson: WVU freshmen DL catching camp attention
It isn’t common for freshmen to earn playing time along the West Virginia defensive front, in fact it’s been a rather rare occurrence.
It could come in two’s this season.
Nose guard Lamonte McDougle and defensive end Darius Stills aren’t quite penciled into the depth chart for this coming season yet, but the pair have a real chance to see the field. Now just camp talk, but a real shot.
Don’t believe me?
When the question was asked to defensive coordinator Tony Gibson if he believed the pair has a real chance to help the Mountaineers this season his reply was simply, “yes.”
Now help is a relative term, and that could mean only 10-20 snaps a game for one, the other, or potentially both players, if they keep up their performances throughout the course of camp. But it is something to pay attention to.
Both have NFL bloodlines with McDougle being the son of former Detroit Lions former first round pick and offensive lineman Stockar, while Stills’ father is none other than former Mountaineers and Kansas City Chiefs pass rusher Gary. So the genetics are there.
McDougle stands 5-foot-10, 295-pounds and has lived up to everything that the coaches had seen on film during the course of his recruiting process. The biggest challenge for freshmen to play on the defensive front is if they can physically withstand the beating their bodies can take.
That hasn’t been an issue to date.
“We thought he was physically mature. We put him in and now were seeing that he really is,” Gibson said. “He’s able to do a lot of good things and play with great leverage.”
With on the shorter side, McDougle uses that to his advantage and also is very strong for a freshman. The Florida native also has impressed with his ability to move and work hard during practice.
Right now, McDougle is working in the rotation at a wide open nose guard position and has an opportunity to carve out a role if he continues with this level of play.
‘I’m excited about him,” Gibson said.
Stills could be considered the most pleasant surprise of fall camp to date, well at least on the defensive side of the ball, according to Gibson. The Fairmont native has put together some strong practices and has been doing some good things with his opportunities on the defensive line.
Gibson admitted that he wasn’t sure if Stills would be able to help right away when he first arrived on campus given how difficult that is for freshmen but is currently on a good path toward possible playing time at some point this season.
The defensive coordinator credits Stills development to what he has done in the weight room and working to put himself in a position to make things interesting.
“Hopefully he can continue what he’s doing and have a chance to help us,” Gibson said.
Now, the season opener is still almost a month away so maintaining that high level of play often proves to be a difficult task for many young players, especially up front.
But if the duo is able to make it through camp to be in position to see the field the plan would be to utilize them much like they did another true freshman that played in Reese Donahue during last football season.
Granted Donahue had the benefit of a spring to further his craft, but if camp is an early indication the future is a bright one up front.